Gogglebox star picked as Labour candidate aiming to boot out Tory Deputy PM Oliver Dowden

[dutchman]

Josh Tapper, who featured on Channel 4 show Gogglebox along with his parents Jonathan and Nikki and sister Amy, said he was 'thrilled' to be standing against Oliver Dowden



A former Gogglebox star has been selected as the Labour candidate seeking to kick Oliver Dowden out of Parliament.

Josh Tapper, who famously featured on the Channel 4 show alongside dad Jonathan, mum Nikki and sister Amy, has been confirmed as the candidate for Hertsmere. He said he was "thrilled and honoured" to be picked.

It means he'll unseat the deputy Prime Minister, who currently represents the constituency in Hertfordshire, if he wins. Mr Tapper posted on Twitter: "I’m thrilled and honoured to have been selected as Labour ’s parliamentary candidate for Hertsmere. Thank you so much to local members for your support - I won’t let you down. The work to unseat the Deputy Prime Minister starts now!"

Mr Tapper, 26, who joined the Labour Party when Keir Starmer became leader, first appeared on the reality TV show when he was 15. In 2022 he told Jewish News it "suddenly blew up out of nowhere". He went on: “I spent the next five years living that life while also trying to live a normal life. But I was the guy who was on TV. My days were long as we were filming the scenes in addition to school."

He left the show in 2017 in order to become a civil servant. At the time a source told The Mirror: "Channel 4 will, of course, keep the door open for him but it’s a really exciting opportunity for him. It’s a much coveted job. Josh has already started having meetings within No10.”

He has previously worked at a foodbank, and claimed the Tories had "driven our country into the ground". Mr Tapper will have his work cut out to overturn a hefty majority. In 2019 Mr Dowden won the seat with a 16,951 majority - a drop from over 21,000 two years earlier.